Review: "The Kids Are All Right" is Alright

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Kids Are All Right (2010)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some teen drug and alcohol use
DIRECTOR: Lisa Cholodenko
WRITERS: Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg
PRODUCERS: Gary Gilbert, Philippe Hellmann, Jordan Horowitz, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray, and Daniela Taplin Lundberg
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Igor Jadue-Lillo (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Jeffrey M. Werner
COMPOSER: Carter Burwell

DRAMA/COMEDY

Starring: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Yaya DaCosta, Kunal Sharma, Eddie Hassell, Zosia Mamet, and Joaquin Garrido

The Kids Are All Right is a domestic drama, but isn’t like other dramas about the American nuclear family. Directed by Lisa Cholodenko, the film focuses on a family lead by sax-sex parents who discover that their children have found their biological father.

Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening) are a lesbian couple living in California. Each gave birth to a child via the same anonymous sperm donor. As she prepares to leave for college, 18-year-old Joni (Mia Wasikowska) acquiesces to a request by her brother, 15-year-old Laser (Josh Hutcherson), to discover the identity of their sperm donor dad. What they find is a small businessman living a bohemian lifestyle, and soon this person by the name of Paul (Mark Ruffalo) is part of the family. But how will he fit in, if he should fit in at all?

In some ways, The Kids Are All Right is sly. With its depictions of affairs, couples squabbling, marital sex, sullen teens, and assorted household dynamics and relationship dysfunction, the film seems to be the average family melodrama. However, the family at the heart of this film is not a normal family, as we generally think of what a normal family should be. Perhaps, the film’s writers, Stuart Blumber and director Lisa Cholodenko, tell this story in the way they do to show that a family headed by a same-sex couple will pretty much have the same ups and downs of a family headed by a man and his wife. This may be their sly and clever way of saying that gay couples are the same as straight couples. Well, they’re not, and that’s just fine.

In an attempt to create an average family drama around a same-sex couple, this film often seems contrived and even a little melodramatic. The Kids Are All Right is certainly a good film, with many fine performances. Annette Bening, who gives a layered and textured performance, however, stands out as genuine, real, and gritty in a film that seems too pat. Bening seems to embody the narrative’s urge to be more than just another indie drama, one with a need to be a carbon copy family dramedy with the straight parents swapped out for a gay couple.

In fact, The Kids Are All Right is really not about the children, which is disappointing because they are such good characters. Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson also give the kind of performances as Joni and Laser, respectively, that makes you really want to get to know them much more than you do.

This is not to say that the film is glaringly deficient. One of the things that makes it so attractive is that both the story and the characters seem to be searching for something more or something that is missing. Its charm is the same-sex nuclear family masquerading as straights, but the writers seem reticent about tearing off the masks and showing something different and really new. The Kids Are All Right, but everything could have been so much more.

7 of 10
B+

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

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Review: Annette Bening is Radiant in "Being Julia"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 43 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Being Julia (2004)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for some sexuality
DIRECTOR: István Szabó
WRITER: Ronald Harwood (from the novel Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham)
PRODUCER: Robert Lantos
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lajos Koltai
EDITOR: Susan Shipton
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/COMEDY

Starring: Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, Shaun Evans, Michael Gambon, Juliet Stevenson, Miriam Margolyes, Bruce Greenwood, Lucy Punch, Tom Sturridge, Rosemary Harris, Rita Tushingham, and Denzal Sinclaire

Annette Bening earned an Oscar nomination (“Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role) for her searing, tour de force performance of feminine wiles and power in Being Julia. Rarely in these recent times has an actress torn up the screen the way Ms. Bening does here. In fact, her performance is worthy of comparisons to Betty Davis in All About Eve and Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind. Ms. Bening’s Julia is witty and sharp, and she plays her audience like a harp. Ms. Bening makes what would have been only another costume drama, a biting stage piece that works as a movie.

Set in London, circa 1938, Being Julia follows aging stage actress, Julia Lambert (Ms. Bening), who seeing her youth fading, is looking for some spark to ignite her passions. She demands that her husband, Michael Gosselyn (Jeremy Irons), who is also her agent and a theatrical producer, give her an extended vacation. Although Michael is reluctant to do so, he gives in to Julia’s demands. However, Julia meets Tom Fennel (Shaun Evans), a young accountant who works for her husband. Tom is a great admirer of Julia’s, and he makes an advance on her one evening when he invites her to his small flat for tea. Although she first resists, Julia allows Tom to sweep her off her feet in an illicit affair and romance that, if discovered, could ruin her.

All is, however, not as Julia would want it. She must rediscover herself, reconnect with her husband, and open up to her somewhat estranged son, Roger Gosselyn (Tom Sturridge). Leaning on reliable friends such as her dresser Evie (Juliet Stevenson), her long time friend, Lord Charles (Bruce Greenwood), and the “spirit” of her drama teacher, Jimmie Langton (Michael Gambon), Julia searches for the balance between two worlds, the stage and life.

Ronald Harwood’s (The Dresser) script for Being Julia focuses on characters, with setting and story being backdrops, and he creates the kind of material a fine cast of actors can transform into a suite of mesmerizing performances that make us forget that the movie might be light on plot and glosses over its settings. Harwood makes even the bit parts juicy, and he makes what could have been a nuisance, Michael Gambon’s role as a kind of ghost, spirit, or figment of Julia’s imagination, Jimmie Langton, something to enhance Julia’s back story and history.

The film is also well directed, and the sets and costumes are equal to all but the most spectacular costume dramas and period films. But in the end, this film belongs to Annette Bening. She gives radiant, fiery life to Julia and makes the audience take this annoying woman into their hearts. Julia isn’t just compelling and winning, as a film character, she’s a beautiful painting created by a performing artist. Ms. Bening takes this character with a shallow personality and by the end of Being Julia, makes her whole.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Annette Bening)

2005 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Annette Bening)

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Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis Join "The Hobbit"

Thanks to IMDb.com, I found this article at Aceshowbiz.com, which reports that Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis have signed on to reprise their Lord of the Rings role in The Hobbit movies.  McKellan, who played Gandalf, and Serkis, who played Gollum, join Cate Blanchett and Elijah Wood, who are already signed to reprise their roles.

Orlando Bloom is still in talks to return as the elf Legolas. [NOTE:  I loves me some Legolas.]  Christopher Lee is reportedly in talks to return as the wizard Saruman, and Ian Holm may return as an older version of Bilbo Baggins.

Martin Freeman will portray the main character, (the younger) Bilbo Baggins.  The Hobbit, based upon the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, will be adapted as two movies.  Part 1 is scheduled to arrive in December 2012, and "The Hobbit 2" in December 2013.

7 Films Compete for 3 "Best Makeup" Oscar Nominations

Press release:

7 Advance in Race for Makeup Oscar®

Beverly Hills, CA (January 10, 2011) — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that seven films remain in competition in the Makeup category for the 83rd Academy Awards®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:
“Alice in Wonderland”
“Barney’s Version”
“The Fighter”
“Jonah Hex”
“True Grit”
“The Way Back”
“The Wolfman”

On Saturday, January 22, all members of the Academy’s Makeup Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

"All About the Benjamins" Right On the Money

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 42 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

All About the Benjamins (2002)
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence, pervasive language, and brief sexuality
DIRECTOR: Kevin Bray
WRITERS: Ronald Lang and Ice Cube
PRODUCERS: Matt Alvarez and Ice Cube
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Glen MacPherson
EDITOR: Suzanne Hines

ACTION/CRIME/COMEDY

Starring: Ice Cube, Michael Epps, Tommy Flanagan, Carmen Chaplin, Eva Mendes, Valarie Rae Miller, Anthony Giaimo, Roger Guenveur Smith, Anthony Michael Hall, and Bow Wow

Bucum (Ice Cube) is a Miami-based bail enforcement agent (bounty hunter). Reginald “Reggie” Wright (Michael Epps) is a conman and frequent quarry of Bucum’s. Reggie’s failed to show up for a court date, so Bucum is out for him again. Bucum spots Reggie exiting a small market where he’s just picked up a lottery ticket for his girl, Gina (Eva Mendes). During the chase, Reggie ducks into a van to hide. What he doesn’t know is that the vehicle belongs to the brother/sister criminal team of Julian Ramose (Roger Guenveur Smith) and Ursula (Carmen Chaplin). The siblings are involved in a double-cross/heist of $20 million in diamonds for their boss, Williamson (Tommy Flanagan). They discover Reggie in their van, and though he eludes them, he leaves behind his wallet, which, of course, contains the lottery ticket.

When Reggie and Gina discover that the ticket Reggie lost is the winner of a $60 million jackpot, they convince a reluctant Bucum to help them find Reggie’s wallet and the ticket before he brings Reggie to jail for missing that court date. One thing complicates it: Bucum also wants to find the $20 million in uncut diamonds and bring down Williamson for two reason: for his own reputation and to trump the cops.

All About the Benjamins is simply a very good buddy action movie. It doesn’t have the self-referential coolness of The Last Boy Scout, nor is it the trendsetter that 48 Hours and Lethal Weapon were, but it’s an engaging B-movie crime flick complete with violent hoods, sly conmen, and a rebellious bounty hunter out to get paid even if he has to take his cut off the side

Ice Cube isn’t a great actor (or a very good one for that matter), but he always gets an “A” for effort. He plays that belligerent Bucum as not quite an unstoppable badass, but as more as guy whose smartness “the Man” underestimates. Mike Epps does a neat turn as the conman Reggie who never seems to run out of one-liners, though this is not a good acting effort on his part. He overacts, badly at times, but his comic sensibilities somewhat save the performance. This was Eva Mendes’ first shot as an action movie chick, but even here she shows the excellent comic timing, acting ability, and star quality that earned her some nice supporting roles next to big stars (Denzel Washington in Out of Time and Will Smith in Hitch). Also look for the usually small, but nice appearance by Roger Geunveur Smith.

6 of 10
B

Monday, February 20, 2006

"The Social Network" Dominates the National Society of Film Critics Awards

The National Society of Film Critics was founded in New York City in 1966. Known for their highbrow tastes, these critics form one of the most prestigious film groups on the United States. Current members include some of my favorite film critics: Roger Ebert, David Edelstein, and J. Hoberman, among others. The society has produced several anthologies about movies, including the must-have for film fans, Produced and Abandoned: The Best Films You’ve Never Seen (1990).

The group announced its 2010 winners yesterday (Sat., Jan. 8th). As has been the trend do far, The Social Network wins a "Best Picture" honor.

2010 National Society of Film Critics Winners:

Best Film: The Social Network

Best Director: David Fincher – The Social Network

Best Actor: Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network

Best Actress: Giovanna Mezzogiorno – Vincere

Best Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush – The King's Speech

Best Supporting Actress: Olivia Williams – The Ghost Writer

Best Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network

Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins – True Grit

Best Foreign Language Film: Carlos

Best Film - Non-Fiction: Inside Job

Readers who go to http://www.nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/ can see the top three finishers in each category, see who the special honorees are, and read the statements the group issued with this year's awards.

Review: "Toy Story 3" is Really Good; So What Else is New?

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Toy Story 3 (2010)
Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA - G
DIRECTOR: Lee Unkrich
WRITERS: Michael Arndt; from a story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich
PRODUCER: Darla K. Anderson
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Jeremy Lasky (D.o.P.) and Kim White (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Ken Schretzmann
COMPOSER: Randy Newman

ANIMATION/FANTASY/COMEDY/
ADVENTURE/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, John Morris, Jodi Benson, Emily Hahn, Laurie Metcalf, Blake Clark, and Whoopi Goldberg

It was an 11-year wait for a sequel to Toy Story 2. The beloved, computer-animated Toy Story film franchise closes with Toy Story 3. The creation of Pixar Animation Studios (Monsters, Inc., Up), Toy Story 3 opened to near universal acclaim and record-setting box office, so I don’t know what more I can say. I was spellbound by the previous films. If I’d had a vote, I would have voted the first two Toy Story movies the best picture Oscar winners for 1995 and 1999, respectively.

Toy Story 3 begins with 17-year-old Andy Davis (John Morris) packing as he prepares to head off to college. Andy has not played with his toys in years, but he decides to take Woody (Tom Hanks) to college with him and store the other toys in the attic. Of course, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the rest of the toys are disappointed. However, when Andy’s mom, Mrs. Davis (Laurie Metcalf), mistakenly throws them out, they’re furious. They climb into a box of stuff to be donated to Sunnyside Daycare. They also refuse to listen to Woody when he tries to explain that Mrs. Davis’ action was a mistake.

Andy’s toys are enthusiastically welcomed by the numerous toys at Sunnyside. The leader of the Sunnyside toys, Lots O’-Huggin Bear a.k.a. “Lotso” (Ned Beatty), gives the newcomers a tour. Andy’s toys quickly become enamored with their new home, and Woody is forced to leave without them in his attempt to return home to Andy. However, all is not sunny at Sunnyside, and so, a thrilling rescue mission and breathless adventure ensue before they return home, again.

Lots O’-animated movies blend adventure, comedy, and emotion, some more deftly than others, but the difference is that in every Pixar film, the emotions are always honest and genuine. Even with expectations so high for Toy Story 3, Pixar still managed to produce a movie that charmed, captivated, and moved audiences so deeply, even making grown men cry at the end.

Starting with the first film, I was not surprised that a 3D digitally animated film about plastic toys could charm us. I’ve been watching the work of animators and filmmakers of animated movies entertain, impress, and dazzle for decades. The more talented the animators, the more they are able to match the power of live-action film, and sometimes even surpass the work of the best live-action filmmakers. Toy Story 3 is clever and exhilarating, poignant and stirring, and amusing and sometimes just plain funny.

Still, I can say the above about a lot of Pixar productions, but this time there is something a bit darker and perhaps, more special about this movie. The story echoes themes of death and endings, betrayal and bitterness, and change and new beginnings – with children’s playthings as the characters. It is like classic juvenile literature that speaks to all of us. That’s it. Toy Story 3 is great.

10 of 10

Sunday, January 09, 2011

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